People

People

Graduate Students

Florence Bacus
In 2018, I graduated with high honors from the University of Michigan with a B.S. in math and physics and a minor in philosophy. Originally I had planned to pursue a career as a mathematician, but towards the end of my time as an undergraduate my interest in philosophy grew, and I ultimately decided to switch fields. My main interests are rational choice theory, epistemology, ethics, and philosophy of language. I’m also interested in logic, philosophy of physics, and philosophy of mind.

Layne Garrelts
I graduated from University of San Diego in 2017 with a B.A. in international relations and a minor in philosophy. My primary philosophical interests include ethics, moral psychology, and continental philosophy. I’m especially interested in virtue ethics and questions concerning the moral value of emotions. Outside of studying philosophy you might find me reading or practicing yoga.

Monika Greco
Monika Greco graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh with a B.S. in philosophy and political science. Her main philosophical interests include general philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, and ethical theory. Monika lives with Plato, her faithful feline friend, and they are excited to explore everything New England has to offer. Outside of philosophy, Monika is an avid Star Wars fan, and has an ever-growing collection of lightsaber props. On occasion, you may find her practicing lightsaber forms at select locations on campus.

Firdaus Gupte
Firdaus was born and grew up in suburban Wisconsin but lived in Mumbai, India as a teenager. In 2018, he graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Mathematics, writing his Senior thesis on Kantian Ethics. He is primarily interested in Ethics and the Philosophy of Math but enjoys other issues in Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind. In his spare time, he enjoys biking, playing the violin, and watching movies!

N. Dane Hewitt
After earning my B.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford I spent the last several years working in Silicon Valley. My research interests are broad and developing, but currently center around epistemology, logic, and the philosophy of language.

Dana Horowitz
As part of the 4+1 program, I finish my undergraduate degree at Tufts in 2018, with a philosophy major and English minor, and my masters degree in 2019. My philosophical interests are primarily in ethics (meta-ethics, moral responsibility, etc.), but I am also very interested in metaphysics, particularly with personal identity and time. Besides my love for philosophy, at Tufts, I am on the debate team and participate in ethics bowl. I also love hiking, reading, and writing.

Christopher Humphreys
Before enrolling in the MA program, I earned a BA in Philosophy & Public Affairs from Claremont McKenna College in 2018. My primary philosophical interests could be broadly categorized as normative questions, with particular attention given to ethics, and to social, political, and moral philosophy. In essence, analytic philosophy is my preferred method of understanding how we are, how we ought to be, and how we can try to be less terrible. If you are a prospective student student and have questions, feel free to send Shayan an email.

William Jimenez Senzano
I studied philosophy and physics at the University of Virginia, graduating in 2014. I am primarily interested in metaphysics and the philosophy physics, specifically regarding topics like theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, foundations of physics, and time. Other interests include critical theory and philosophies of art, literature, and film.

Jana Kasab
I graduated from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon with a B.A. in philosophy and a B.S. in biology. I have growing interests in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, philosophy of biology, and feminist philosophy. Aside from philosophy, I enjoy the theater, musicals, and discovering all kinds of music and artists.

Polina Kasparova
I graduated from Barnard College in 2015 with a major in political science. After graduating, I worked in the human rights nonprofit sector for several years, in both research and communications roles. While my introduction to philosophy came through political theory, my primary interests now are in philosophy of science, particularly psychology; philosophy of mind; and 20thcentury European philosophy. More specifically, I am interested in topics such as the role of subjective experience in scientific inquiry, the distinction between science and pseudoscience, and therapeutic models of philosophy.

Shayan Koeksal
I graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in philosophy in May of 2017. My primary areas of interest are meta-ethics, moral psychology, and practical rationality. In my free time, I enjoy playing/watching basketball and soccer. If you are a prospective student student and have questions, feel free to send me an email.

Huadian Liu
After graduating with a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2016, I spent a year at the University of Edinburgh and received an MSc in Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition. I am mostly interested in descriptive theories of conscious experience. I also have interests in empirical work in cognitive science, especially in perception and psycholinguistics. Outside of philosophy, I swim, play pool, and translate John Ashbery's prose poems into indecipherable Chinese.

Anthony Meyers

Amelia Perkins
Amelia graduated in 2015 from St. John's College. She completed an undergraduate program based on the Western canon, including significant study in literature and the history of science and mathematics as well as philosophy. She is interested in ancient philosophy and philosophy of science.

Travis Quigley
I grew up in Suffolk, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia, where I strayed from my original interest in political science into political philosophy and then fully into philosophy proper. I have research interests some better developed than others in political obligation, the coherence of consequentialist ethics, and fairness theory. I occasionally make a foray into other fields, where I have almost-entirely-undeveloped views about the moral standing of animals and the composition of ordinary objects.

Harry Rosenberg
As an undergraduate at George Washington University, after coming dangerously close to completing a degree in Classical Studies, it occurred to me that the only discipline which promised even fewer material rewards than the classics was philosophy. Upon this realization, I promptly switched my major, and would eventually receive my degree in philosophy, magna cum laude. Nowadays I am interested principally in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, where I am particularly concerned with questions regarding phenomenal consciousness, mental content, and social cognition. When not doing philosophy, which is too often, I enjoy listening to classical music, cooking, backpacking, and target shooting.

Roberto Santos
Roberto W. Santos (Captain, US Army, Active Duty) is an alumnus of Indiana University (South Bend) and a native of Mishawaka, Indiana. Originally, his major was in nursing, however, after taking some entry level philosophy classes he promptly switched after falling in love with the subject. What initially attracted him most was the introduction and exploration of topics that he was not taught in public school or had ever considered in life. What kept him in was an increasing respect for critical thinking, the debate and rhetoric that often accompanied the classes, and the extremely supportive and understanding teaching staff.

Upon graduation in 2009 Roberto embarked on his next phase of life; the path to becoming an Officer in the US Army. After intensely training for nine months, he was commissioned and began his Army career as a Military Intelligence Officer. During that time, he has deployed to Afghanistan and served in various important leadership positions. He has lived in various parts of the country serving with different units in Tennessee, Arizona, and Texas most recently.

In his personal life, Roberto is married to a fellow philosopher who he met while at IUSB, Angela M. Santos (fmr: Alexy). Together, they have traveled the nation, started a family, and have one son, Ethan Grey Santos. Roberto’s interests haven’t changed much throughout his life as he still enjoys gaming of any sort, reading, and working out. He has recently picked up painting Warhammer 40,000 miniatures and is having fun learning how to paint on such a minute scale. While he enjoys most philosophy topics universally, he will likely focus his efforts at Tufts on ethics and artificial intelligence problems.

Alex Sarappo
Alex grew up in a quiet corner of New Jersey and, in 2016, graduated from Colby College, where he double majored in Philosophy and English, with a concentration in creative writing. After graduating, Alex worked in New York, teaching creative and essay writing to students of all ages and backgrounds. His primary areas of philosophical interest include epistemology, aesthetics, philosophy of language, and Wittgenstein. Currently, he's particularly invested in issues relating to interpersonal testimony, specifically when the content of the testimony in question is of an aesthetic or ethical nature. Alex is excited to be at Tufts, though he admits to feeling slightly isolated out among all the Red Sox caps in the Boston area.

Daniel Schwartz
I concentrated in English at Harvard and wrote a book of poems for my senior thesis. During my time at Harvard, I became increasingly fascinated by a small handful of thinkers and writers---Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Freud, Wittgenstein, and Kafka. At Tufts, I have continued to study Wittgenstein as well as the language philosophy that preceded him and has since been developed. I have lately immersed myself in the work of Quine, exploring the relation between natural language and formal systems. Most broadly, I am interested in philosophy that is suspicious of system, disinterested reason, abstraction, and any kind of truth independent of motive and purpose.

Gabriel Siegel
I obtained my B.A. in philosophy from the University of Washington, with a minor in French. My primary interests are in the philosophy of language, mind, and phenomenology. Lately, I have been thinking about: direct reference, nonconceptual representations and embodied cognition. I also have an interest in modern philosophy (esp. Spinoza and Kant). Outside of my academic pursuits I play saxophone and clarinet.

Sally Tilton

Chip Williams
As an undergraduate at Oberlin College I considered following my heart and majoring in computer science or economics, but my lust for material gain drove me into the arms of the philosophy department. After graduating in the spring of 2013, I briefly returned to my hometown in northeastern North Carolina, where I enjoyed explaining to strangers and casual acquaintances alike what I plan to do with my philosophy degree. I never tired of basking newtlike in the warm glow of their approval after revealing my intention to obtain another, bigger philosophy degree. My primary interests are in the philosophy of biology (especially evolutionary biology) and general philosophy of science.

Asa Zabarsky
My primary interests are in epistemology and moral philosophy, with further interests in philosophical applications of decision and game theory and philosophical methodology. Contact: asa.zabarsky@tufts.edu.